


Pick up line

by 1jet2unknown



Series: Alpha Prompts [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, BAMF Erica Reyes, Bad Pick-Up Lines, Bartender Derek Hale, Cora Hale & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Derek Hale Needs To Use His Words, Derek Hale is Bad at Feelings, Drunk Stiles Stilinski, Drunken Flirting, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Hale Family Feels, Kissing, Laura Hale & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, M/M, Musician Derek Hale, Pick-Up Lines, Protective Derek, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Singer Derek Hale, Slow Build Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Texting, Wooing, so many bad pick-up lines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 21:27:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 21,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21735667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1jet2unknown/pseuds/1jet2unknown
Summary: Handing the change back to Stiles, the sneeze finally broke free and Derek quickly turned to hide his face in his elbow. The last thing they needed was getting their patrons sick. "Sorry for that", he muttered, but Stiles just grinned at him. "I’d say God Bless you, but it looks like he already did." the boy said with an eccentric wink and this time Laura barked out a laughter so loud it made her topple over, dropping a glass.Derek is a bartender and each time Stiles is there, he uses the most ridiculous pick-up lines on Derek, all to Laura's and Cora's amusement.
Relationships: Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: Alpha Prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1526072
Comments: 36
Kudos: 803





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> After having been sick & on vacation for weeks, I'm back with another one-shot - and it was so much fun to write!! I hope you enjoy reading it just as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> I'm planning to write some more of this as there are just too many bad pick-up lines I haven't even touched on yet :P  
> Do you agree?

Derek felt horrible and probably shouldn’t have come into work. But with Boyd and Erica on vacation, he couldn’t let Laura and Cora down. So he had taken a generous dose of his cold-medicine, put on his work uniform, and now was standing behind the bar. Finishing up a couple of pink drinks for a group of girls that had come in a few minutes ago, he tried his best to look friendly as he handed them over and rang the girls up. 

He only would have to fight through the main rush. As soon as the crowd thinned around eleven or twelve, he could leave the rest to his sisters and get some deserved rest.

“What do you have on tap today?”, a familiar voice asked and Derek turned around to find the boy in front of him that had been coming to the bar frequently during the last month. Stiles, he remembered the boy finally introducing himself last week. His eyes had been bright and hopeful, but Derek had only grunted an “okay” and handed him his beer without offering him his own name. But that hadn’t seemed to slow the boy down. Instead, he seemed to stop by even more frequently, introducing Derek to one ridiculous pick-up line after another each time he ordered a drink.

“We got Howler Brown Ale, Beacon Dry Stout and our own ‘Wet Dream’, which is a fresh hop ale.” He regretted ever letting Laura name their latest creation, because even with patrons other than Stiles, he always got the same reaction whenever he introduced them to their menu. And without fail, Stiles face split in a grin, his eyes holding a mischievous glint. “I think I already had enough wet dreams thanks to you, so I’ll go with the Stout.” Derek rolled his eyes at the cheap line, ignoring Laura’s cackle behind him, and moved over to draw the boy’s beer.

As usual, Stiles leaned on the bar as he followed Derek’s movements with his eyes. Derek always felt his neck heat under the boys stare, something about him making him incredibly self-aware. Looking up, he sure enough met Stiles’ eyes and cleared his throat. “That would be seven dollars.”, he grunted as he shoved the pint at the youngster who handed him the money. As he typed the price into the register, he felt his nose tickle and crunched it to avoid the sneeze that built up within him. Turning back to Stiles with his change, he found the man biting back a grin and rolled his eyes again.

Handing the change back to Stiles, the sneeze finally broke free and Derek quickly turned to hide his face in his elbow. The last thing they needed was getting their patrons sick. “Sorry for that,” he muttered, but Stiles just grinned at him. “I’d say God Bless you, but it looks like he already did.” the boy said with an eccentric wink and this time Laura barked out a laughter so loud it made her topple over, dropping a glass. “Oh my god, you are precious!”, she wheezed as she rubbed the tears from her eyes.

Derek glared at her, then at Stiles. “Thanks... I guess...” Derek’s voice was rougher than he intended it to be, but Stiles took it in stride. He picked up his beer and gave Derek a mocking salute before he turned around and made his way over to the booth where his two friends were waiting. 

Shaking his head, Derek turned to his sister and pushed her away from where she picked up some broken pieces of glass. “Let me.” he grumbled. “You’re just going to cut yourself.” Laura stood up and wiped her hands at the towel hanging over her shoulder. “Thanks baby-bro.” “Stop calling me that”, Derek grumbled and discarded the big pieces of glass he had collected into the trash. 

“Aaaaw” Laura cooed and pinched his cheeks. “Look who’s still all grumpy from all the unresolved sexual tension earlier!” Derek groaned and swatted her hand away. “Sexual tension, my ass...” He angrily swept the floor and tossed the rest of the glass into the trash bin. When he finally returned to his post behind the counter, his eyes unintentionally sought out the messy brown mop of hair and found Stiles laughing at something his friends said.

* * *

By the time Stiles came to the bar next, Derek successfully had fought off his cold. He watched as Stiles and Scott made their way over to their usual booth and already started pouring a Howler for Scott who always drank the same. He would love to see Stiles’ face if he got his order ready before the boy even had uttered a word. Unfortunately, however, Stiles hardly ever drank the same thing twice. He loved stouts and full-bodied, spicy beers in general, but then again there were nights he ordered the most ridiculous cocktails, which humored Laura to no extend. You just never knew what to expect with that boy.

“Hey Derek” Stiles greeted him with a grin and drummed an irregular beat on the counter-top while he scanned the fridges and blackboards behind Derek for something to drink. “How’s this week’s house beer?” Stiles asked and Derek shrugged. “Good.” Stiles motioned for him to continue and Derek rolled his eyes. “It’s bitter enough for you to like and has a herbal and citrusy finish.” he grunted, putting extra annoyance into his voice just because he knew how it caused that amused glint to show in Stiles’ eyes. And without fail, Stiles’ face lit up with delight as he shot finger guns Derek and ordered a pint.

“Hey loser”, Cora greeted the boy as she cleaned out the dishwasher. “Haven’t seen you in days.” Stiles gave her a salute and leaned over the counter to get a better look at Derek. “Couldn’t be helped. Finals.” he explained absentmindedly and Cora winced in sympathy. “Sucks. Have a good feeling at least?” Stiles nodded and licked his lips as he unabashedly raked his eyes over Derek’s body. Cora, being the evil sister that she was, just smirked. “Like what you see?” she teased and Stiles didn’t even have the courtesy to blush, instead just grinned. “Always.” he stated and wiggled his eyebrows. 

Derek rolled his eyes and wiped the bottom of the pint with before putting it on the counter in front of Stiles. Taking the beer from Derek’s hand, Stiles licked his lips and the bartender just knew he was in for another embarrassing flirting attempt. And Stiles delivered: “Say... Are you a parking ticket?” Derek just raised his eyebrows, waiting for the punch line. He knew Stiles good enough by now to know that answering any of his opening questions bore no fruits. And sure enough, Stiles’ grin turned wider as he gave Derek an exaggerated sexy-face. “‘Cause you’ve got fine written all over you.”

Derek pulled the towel from his shoulder and slapped Stiles playfully across the face. “This is not a meat show.” he growled with no heat and bit down a laugh as Stiles looked at him with puppy eyes that could have rivaled puss in boots. “Don’t take a drink from a poor man dying of thirst!” he whined and gave Derek his best puppy eyes. (It was adorable as hell, but Derek would rather bite off his tongue than admit that to his face). Cora was faster than him to react and threw her head back in laughter. “Oh, someone’s thirsty all right.” she giggled and shook her head in amused disbelief as she disappeared through the small door into the back.

Derek flicked his finger against Stiles’ forehead and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I actually just served you a drink. So take it and be merry.” Stiles upheld his puppy eyes for a moment before he deflated. Shrugging, he picked up his pint and turned around. “Then I guess I’ll go and be merry.”, he singsonged and looked at Derek over his shoulder, almost walking into one of the tables in the progress. Derek snorted and gestured to him to turn the fuck around before turning his attention to the middle-aged man studying the menu.

The next time Stiles found his way over to the bar, Derek considered hiding in the back for a second. Laura had taken up her shift and didn’t stop to bring up Stiles’ infatuation with Derek. And sure enough she already smirked as she watched the boy approach. But the sparkle in the Stiles’ eyes told him he had come up with yet another bad pick-up line up to try on Derek. And despite knowing he would probably regret it, Derek was keen on finding out just how bad the pick-up line was this time. So he watched the boy as he closed the last distance and leaned on the bar.

“What can I get you this time?” Derek asked matter-of-factly and Stiles nodded towards the taps. “Another house.” he grinned and watched Derek’s muscles flex as he drew the beverage. And as they waited for the foam to settle, Stiles finally broke the silence between them and offered Derek his newest masterpiece of a pick-up line: “So.... Is your name Google? Because I think you’ve got everything I’ve been searching for.” 

The boy wiggled his eyebrows, a cheeky grin on his face as his long fingers played with the coasters sitting in a small pile on the counter. “Actually, his name is Derek.”, Laura leaned in from where she was decorating some fruity cocktails with small umbrellas and winked at Derek with an evil smirk. “And whenever he looks like he wants to murder you...” “Like this?” the boy interrupted and pointed at Derek’s annoyed face. Laura nodded. “...that actually means he would like nothing more than to jump over the bar and shut you up. With his mouth.”

Stiles threw his head back in a cackle and almost fell on his back. “Oh man, I like you, girl!” he huffed when he finally stopped laughing. “Laura.” Derek watched his sister introduce herself. “And I like you, too” She pinched the boy's cheek with a grin and turned around to teasingly stick out her tongue at Derek. Derek just rolled his eyes and scowled at her, but his glare didn’t seem to faze her in the least. Instead, she just pushed the two drinks she had made over the counter and turned to pick up the order of another patron.

“So... Derek, huh” Stiles said, eyes happy and cheeks slightly red. “Yeah.” Derek cleared his throat and busied his hands with wiping down the bar. “Can... Can I actually call you that?” Stiles asked, and it surprised Derek how shy the boy suddenly seemed. He nervously turned his glass between his hands, long fingers drawing zigzag lines in the condensation on the outer side of the glass. Derek looked at him for a moment in contemplation and then nodded. “Sure.” Stiles visibly held back from doing a happy-dance, his body giving a short full-body spasm accompanied by a silent squeal instead.

“Then I shall be back later, Derek.” Stiles gave a mocking bow and picked up his beer. “Can’t wait for it, Stiles.” Derek returned, which made Stiles grin from ear to ear as he skipped back to where his friends were in a heated discussion about something.

* * *

Over Christmas, the bar was closed and Derek, Laura and Cora spent the holidays with their parents. Being back in his childhood home always made Derek feel warm and cozy and he relished in the taste of his mom’s cooking. The days went by quickly and soon enough Derek and his sisters were back at the bar opening up for the New Year’s eve crowd. People flocked in and Derek put a ‘reserved’ sign on the table of the second booth to the right, ignoring the amused looks of his sisters. 

He didn’t know for sure if Stiles and his friends actually would show up, but if they did, Stiles probably would be sad if someone took their spot. So he’d keep the table for them, as a kind gesture towards their loyal regulars, nothing more. But the hours ticked by and the small bar got crowded, so when it turned eleven and Derek still couldn’t spot Stiles’ messy mob of hair in the crowd he pulled the tag from the table and gestured for a group of girls to take a seat.

“Why the long face, grumpy? Missing a certain someone?” Cora hip-checked him as she passed and teasingly stuck out her tongue. “Don’t poke the bear!” Laura warned with a laugh, and Derek would have loved to through something at her. But patrons were lining up at the counter and as the owner he couldn’t have them see him in a petty ice cube match with his sisters. So he handed out some more beers before finding an excuse to hide out in the back for a while.

By the time he reemerged through the back door, two crates of beers in his arms, it was already close to midnight. The countdown on the television hanging in the back corner of the bar announced ten more minutes until the new year and Derek couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. He hefted the crates in his arms, making his way over to the middle fridge behind the counter when a familiar voice shouted over the noise of the crowds. “With guns like these, who’d need a Phaser?” 

Derek’s head whipped around and he found Stiles grinning at him where he was stuck between two patrons to the left of the bar. “Hey!” Derek greeted and cursed inwardly at how pathetically happy he sounded. He put down the cases and walked over to the boy. “Already thought you guys wouldn’t come tonight.” he admitted, pleased with the happy blush the words caused on Stiles’ face. Scanning the crowd he noticed that Stiles’ usual entourage was nowhere to be seen. “You alone tonight?” he asked and Stiles sheepishly ducked his head.

“We’re having a party at a friend’s place a few streets over.” Stiles’ words were already slurred so they must have partied quite a bit already and Derek tried not to think about who the boy might have gotten this drunk with. “But I thought I’d stop by for a drink anyway....” Stiles continued, biting down on his lips in a poor attempt to hide his smile, his blush turning a deep red. “Let’s say I got a craving for... good craft-beer.” 

Before Derek could reply, Laura was leaning in and ruffled Stiles’ hair with her hand. “Aw” she cooed, grinning up her brother. “Derek here will be more than happy to satisfy any cravings you might have, sweety!” The wink she gave Stiles made the boy sputter and to Derek’s frustration she jumped out of the way too quickly as that he could have hit her with his elbow. She laughed all the way to the other end of the bar where she handed change to a patron and got herself busy taking new orders. Stiles just watched him, eyes glazed from too much booze and a dopey smile on his lips. 

Derek shook his head and reached over the counter to brush a knuckle against the younger one’s chin, causing his head to slightly tip back. “You sure you can handle more alcohol? You look like you’re ready to fall over and sleep.” Stiles’ face got comically serious at the question and he vigorously nodded his head. “I can drink! I’m pretty much sober. Almost. Okay, maybe not. But one more beer won’t kill me.” The bartender laughed and drew half a pint of stout for Stiles. When he handed the glass to him, their fingers brushed and for a moment it felt like everything around them zoomed out and all Derek’s senses were on Stiles. But then their private little bubble burst as the crowd started shouting the count-down, finishing with loud cheers as party crackers popped and glasses clinked. 

“Happy new year, Derek” Stiles said, his voice barely audible over the singing and cheering of the crowd. His eyes were warm and content as he looked at Derek, a small smile on his lips, and Derek found a mirroring smile also curling up his lips as he watched the boy in front of him. “Happy new year to you, too, Stiles.” He grabbed the bottle of Howler standing next to the taps he had nursed throughout the evening and bumped them against Stiles’ glass and just as he was about to say something, Cora launched herself at him, kissing his cheek. “Happy new year, Der!” she screamed into his ear, obviously having had too much to drink herself. Laura, too, leaned over his shoulder and gave him a hug from behind accompanied by a peck that landed more on his ear than his cheek. “Happy new year, baby-bro!”

And even though the bar was way too full for his taste and he was sure he had just heard someone throw up in the back, he wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else to start the new year.

* * *

In early January, Derek and Laura navigated a Saturday-night-crowd. Since they had opened their micro-brewery-bar a few months back customers had increased steadily to the extent that they even had started to look for additional help. Derek didn’t like days that were too busy and not just because the crowd flocking around the bar and open area took away his view at a certain booth.

Stiles and his friends had come in about two hours earlier and already were emptying their second round of drinks. As usual, Stiles had welcomed him with a ridiculous pick-up line (“They say Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. Well apparently, no one has ever been standing next to you.”) and then sat down with the others at their usual spot. When he had picked up the second round of drinks, the bar had been so busy that Laura had been the one to serve him. Derek had grit his teeth and slammed down a fruity cocktail in front of a wide-eyed girl, earning him a glare from his sister.

Eager to not lose another opportunity to interact with Stiles (Okay, so he kind of enjoyed the youngster’s presence - sue him!) he had busied himself with restocking the bar and left Laura to take orders. When he finally spotted the familiar brown mop of hair making his way through the crowd, Derek stepped back up to the counter and pulled out a fresh pint glass, ready to draw Stiles’ beer.

“Sorry, but you owe me a drink.” were the first words out of Stiles’ mouth and Derek frowned. “And why would that be?” he asked, an eyebrow raised as he gave Stiles a flat look. The boy just grinned cheekily. “Because when I looked at you, I dropped mine.” Derek huffed out a sigh and already reached for the little hand-brush under the sink when Laura stepped in and rolled her eyes. “You have to excuse my brother. He wouldn’t be able to detect a joke even if you hit him in the face with it. Which, frankly, you pretty much did.” Derek glared at both of them and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“You done poking fun at me?” he growled, but neither Stiles nor Cora seemed to take him seriously. “How about you poke something at me? Doesn’t have to be fun, ya know...” Stiles wiggled his eyebrows and Laura snorted a laugh. Derek just rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the smile pulling on the corners of his lips. This boy was ridiculous!

At that, Stiles beamed up. “Oh my god!” he squealed excitedly. “Did I just see correctly? I think you just smiled!” He leaned over the counter, his face as close up to Derek’s as it possibly could without him falling over. “Mark your calendar, Laura! Derek the stone-face finally cracked a smile!”

Derek pushed Stiles’ face away and continued to draw his beer which, a perfect crown of foam on top, he then shoved into Stiles’ hands. “Shut up and drink.” he grumbled and took the ten that Stiles offered with a huge grin. “I could come up with fifty ways of how to shut me up. And all of them include you.” Derek shook his head and snorted out a laugh at which Stiles fist-bumped into the air. “Two! Two in a row! Man, I’m on a roll today...” 

Ignoring Cora and Laura laughing in the background, Derek handed Stiles’ his change which the younger one pushed into the tip jar on the counter. “Just go back to your friends and enjoy your drink.” Derek huffed and Stiles grinned back at him. “Well.. I guess that’s what I have to do. Can’t overexert your face with all that unfamiliar muscle-action.” He teasingly stuck out his tongue and turned around bouncing back to their booth.

* * *

“You’re like a drug to me. Good thing you’re over the counter.”

“Nice one,” Laura complimented as she walked by and Stiles grinned at her. Derek watched their interaction with a suppressed smile and shook his head. “Don’t encourage him” he pleaded, but Stiles just shrugged. “Even without encouragement there’s plenty more where that came from!” Derek handed Stiles his beer with a smirk. “Is that supposed to be a promise or a threat?” The boy just winked at him handing him his card and Derek turned around to fetch the card reader when he frowned.

“Stiles, that’s your library card.” Derek turned back to the counter, holding the laminated card between his index and middle finger. “I know” the boy replied, batting his eyes innocently. Derek knew that Stiles wanted him to ask, needed him to ask, to deliver his punch line. And who was he to deny the boy anything? “Why did you hand me your library card, Stiles?” he asked obligingly, voice as flat as he could make it sound despite his amusement. And that was all Stiles had been waiting for: He leaned over the counter, resting his head in his propped up hand and grinned up at Derek. “Because I am totally checking you out tonight!”

Laura cackled behind him, accompanied by some chuckles by the patrons waiting for their drinks, and Cora put down the tray with dirty glasses she had just collected from one of the booths and gave Stiles a loud high-five. “Two in a row, baby!” Stiles celebrated, and Derek asked himself how this had become his life. Radiating happiness all over, Stiles handed him his actual card to open a tab for the night.

And knowing Stiles on a Friday, it would be a long night full of dorky pick-up lines. And even if he never would admit it out loud, Derek wouldn’t want it any other way.

* * *

In February Stiles hadn’t come in for almost two weeks and, despite him seeing Cora and Laura check the door worriedly whenever a customer came in, they had teased him for his grumpiness. It just was unlikely for the boy. He had come over at least once a week since his first visit, so him not showing his face for two weeks? Yes, it had Derek worried. So when one night the door finally opened revealing the boy wrapped in a ridiculously fluffy scarf that covered everything from his cute button nose downwards, Derek had breathed a sigh of relief. Scott and Allison stepped in behind Stiles and made their way over to their regular booth with a strawberry blonde and a tall blonde guy in tow. Stiles, however, made a direct bee-line for the bar.

“Hey” he greeted as Stiles pulled the scarf off his face revealing the beaming smile Derek had missed seeing. “Hi there, handsome.” he returned and held his hands to his cheeks that with the warmth of the bar had turned a rosy red. He looked edible and Derek had to distract himself with wiping imaginary dirt off his hands to not reach out to feel how cold Stiles’ skin was. “Cold?” he asked and Stiles nodded in affirmation. “Freezing! I just hope I’m not getting sick again. Already was down with the flu the last two weeks...”

Relieved that Stiles’ blabbering had spared him the embarrassment of having to ask where the boy had been and probably make an ass out of himself, Derek turned around and picked up one of the big porcelain cups and held it under a dispenser that rested on the small side-counter next to the fridges. When he finished pouring the beverage and added some honey and spices, he held the steaming cup out to Stiles, who grabbed it with a frown. “Hot wine. White one. With extra honey and ginger.” Derek grunted, trying to not look too obvious. “Might be better for your health than a cold beer.”

Stiles serenely ran his fingers over the smooth porcelain, tracking the image of a winter forest painted on the cup’s side. “Thanks, Derek.” he whispered and closed his eyes to take a whiff of the spicy smell eluding from the hot drink. Derek actually held onto the counter-top when Stiles let out a moan (oh the mental images!) before opening his eyes again to look straight at Derek. “That smells amazing!” Eagerly he took a sip and immediately burned his tongue, grimacing and sticking it out. (It did not help Derek’s inner turmoil.)

“Sorry, should have told you it’s hot.” Derek winced and handed Stiles an ice cube to cool the burn (which was a bad idea. He’d never get the image of Stiles sucking on it, his tongue playing around the little cube in his mouth, out of his head). “Not as hot as you” Stiles grinned and bit down on the ice cube with a loud crack. Derek rolled his eyes, trying to look annoyed but failing miserably. “I was already wondering how long it would take until you utter your first bad line again.” he laughed and Stiles leaned over the counter, his thick jacket dragging up with the motion, the big collar covering his face like a furry halo. “If you were a laser, you would be set on stunning.”

Derek pulled Stiles’ hood over his face and pushed him away, careful enough to ensure Stiles wouldn’t spill his drink. “I have to make up for two missed weeks, so prepare yourself!” Stiles laughed as he pulled back his hood again and mimicked a toast towards Derek before turning around and making his way over to where his friends were already seated, showing the new additions to the group through the small table menu.

* * *

“You look tired” Derek greeted Stiles as he slumped against the bar. His face was paler than usual, his moles a stark contrast against his fair skin, and dark circles under his eyes indicated that he probably hadn’t slept much the night - or nights - before. “You okay?”

Scratching his neck, Stiles nodded. “Had to hand in a paper today and it kinda kept me awake the past two nights.” Derek winced in sympathy, remembering his own time in college and how he, too, had sometimes worked through several nights in a row to make sure his assignments got finished on time. He poured a 252 and slid it over the counter-top towards Stiles how furrowed his brows in confusion. “I didn’t order anything yet.” 

“On the house. You look like you need it.” Derek explained and Stiles face lit up. He took the shot glass and threw it back in one smooth movement. Derek watched the boy’s throat bop as he swallowed, heat pooling in his loins. When Cora threw him a knowing look as she passed the bar, he cleared his throat. “So what can I get you?” he asked Stiles, who inspected the handwritten special menu above the fridges. “Scott has the usual, Allison wants a virgin Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri and I think I’ll have a simple 805 plus - is Laura working the kitchen today?” Derek nodded. “Then I’ll have some jerk chicken. Oh, and add some popcorn for the table.” Derek called the food in with Laura while he started to work on the drinks. 

“No pick-up line today?” Derek asked teasingly. “I’m almost disappointed.” Stiles grinned and without a second of thought he said “If I received a nickel for every time I saw someone as beautiful as you, I’d have five cents.” causing Derek to snort out a laugh. He looked at Stiles fondly, pouring the daiquiri in a glass, finishing the drink off with a lime and a straw. “You have a backlog of these or something?” Stiles laughed as he took the cocktail from the bartender’s hands. “My brain is a colorful hotchpotch of everything fun.” he stated happily and winked at Derek who couldn’t suppress an amused grin. “I’ll bring Scott’s beer in a minute” he snickered and watched Stiles make his way back to their booth with his and Allison’s drink in hand.

When he served Scott’s drink and a basket of popcorn a few minutes later Stiles beamed up at him, the bottle in his hand almost half empty already. “How long are you guys open today?” he asked and Derek could tell that, despite his attempts to act normal, the boy was nervous. “Probably one or two. Why?” Stiles bit on his lips, untypically shy, until someone kicked him under the table (probably Allison). “Just... just because.” Another kick made him glare at Allison, who made a pointing motion with her head before focusing on Derek again. 

“You wanna grab some drinks with us after closing up?” he finally asked and Derek bit down a grin, because, damn, Stiles was adorable. His eyes were big and hopeful, whiskey-brown orbs inspecting him through long lashes; his cheeks were slightly blushed, maybe from the alcohol, maybe from nervousness and his lips curled up in a small, timid smile. He was tempted. He really was. But... “Sorry” Stiles’ face fell for a moment before he schooled it into his usual happy face. The fact that the smile didn’t reach his eyes made Derek feel awful, but he couldn’t backpedal now. “Today’s not a good night.” With a nod towards Stiles’ tired face he added “You, too, should rather catch up on some sleep than stay up all night.”

Stiles sighed but nodded, eyes staring at the bottle in his hands. “Yeah. Yeah... of course.” Despite the stiff smile on his lips, he looked crushed and Derek felt bad for being the cause for his sadness. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to grab a drink with the boy. But... he couldn’t bring it over him to actually agree. And he really _did_ have plans. (Okay, doing inventory might not be a _fun_ plan, but still...) 

Derek sighed as he watched Stiles empty the rest of his bottle in one go. Allison bumped Stiles shoulder in sympathy while Scott just straight-up glared at Derek. “Maybe another night?” The words toppled out of his mouth before he knew it, but he couldn’t find it in him to regret them when Stiles’ head shot around looking at him with surprised but excited eyes. “Really?” Glancing over at Scott who still glared daggers at him, Derek nodded. “Mondays normally work best. But I can’t promise anything.” Nodding furiously, Stiles grinned up at him and Derek took his leave before he accidentally committed to anything else. 

The rest of the night Stiles watched Derek from his position next to Scott, a constant smile on his lips as he downed 5 more beers. The group stayed until almost one before finally making their way back home, Stiles slurring his words slightly as he pretty much hang over one of the bar stools saying his goodbyes to Derek.

* * *

“So why aren’t you dating him already?” Cora poked him in the shoulder with her foot. “He’s like cute and funny and adorable” “And all over you” Laura added from where she plopped down into his armchair, a bag of popcorn in her lap. It was their day off and as usual they spent it at his apartment watching some movies. 

“It’s Nanya.” Derek grunted and his sisters shared a confused look. “Who’s Nanya?” Cora finally asked and Derek glared at her “Nanya damn business.” he bit out and sunk deeper into the couch cushions. Laura rolled her eyes and threw a handful of popcorn at him, one kernel bouncing off his nose, making Cora snort out a laugh. “Stop being a prick and just spit it out. You two have been making googly eyes at each other for months now, so what’s keeping you?” 

Derek felt his sisters’ drilling stare on him and grit his teeth. He wished he could tell them, but to be frank, he himself wasn’t sure why he didn’t just give in to Stiles’ ridiculous courting and go on a date with him. Cause his sisters were right: Stiles was perfect. He was cute and funny and Derek could write poems about how Stiles’ eyes lit up when he smiled, how his cute nose crinkled whenever he was happy... 

Cora leaned into his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts. “You should see yourself right now. You are so gone on him” she teased and grabbed the remote from where it rested on the armrest. Derek teasingly snapped his teeth at her eliciting a laugh from her. Laura just watched the two of them in thought, chewing on some popcorn. When Derek looked up to meet her eyes, her eyebrows lowered in a small frown. “Don’t tell me you’re still reluctant to even try dating someone because of her?” she asked carefully, earning herself an angry glare from Derek.

“Don’t bring up Kate!” he hissed angrily and grabbed the remote control from Cora’s hand with more force than necessary, navigating through Netflix to the movie they had decided to watch tonight. “Der...” Laura tried again. “She was a bitch who used you. But not everyone is like that, okay?” Anger coiled in his stomach, burning up his spine as his glare intensified. “I said I don’t want to talk about her!” Derek roared at her and Laura held up her hands in surrender. Cora just watched her siblings and sighed. “Laur, you know that Kate’s still a taboo topic.” she scolded. “But Der, she is right: If you don’t give Stiles a chance just because you’re still affected by what happened, you could lose out on something amazing.” She carefully placed a hand on Derek’s arm. “And you deserve something amazing.”

After a moment of heavy silence, Derek finally huffed. He knew his sisters were right. But letting someone close again after having been hurt so much.... it just wasn’t easy. He had dated random girls and boys throughout high school and college, but Kate had been the first one he actually had fallen for. Hard. He even had bought a ring, intent to spend the rest of his life with her. Only to find her in the arms of another guy, for her to laugh in his face how she only had been with him because his family had money. And then she even had the audacity to take the ring with her when she skipped town with the guy, probably to sell it the next chance she had. It had left him in pieces. And he hadn’t even hooked up with anyone since then, too afraid to form an actual connection.

Deflating into the cushions, Stiles pointed to the TV screen. “Can... Can we just watch the movie?” Laura and Cora shared a look but then both nodded to which Derek answered by pressing play. 

* * *

After three more nights of Stiles stopping by the bar, making the feeling in Derek’s chest worse each time Stiles glanced up at him through his long lashes, Derek finally came to the conclusion that maybe his sisters weren’t so wrong: Stiles might be young and quite a bit of a flirt, but he seemed genuine in his advances. The way he looked at Derek didn’t seem like it he was just after Derek’s body. Sure, most of his pickup lines were about how hot he thought Derek was, but the small conversations they had shared over the months had revealed an honest interest in Derek as a person. And Stiles couldn’t possibly know that Derek’s family had money. They had kept any connection to their parents or Hale Inc. off their documents and online presences.

So the next time Stiles came in, Derek decided, he would just go with the flow. Well, whatever that meant for him at least.

Two days later, Stiles was back at the bar again, pointing to the fridge behind Derek as he ordered a bottle of Bass. “Anything to eat as well?” Derek asked as he opened the bottle and handed it to Stiles, who immediately took a generous sip. “Nah, we’re not gonna stay long.” he sighed and Derek raised an eyebrow, supporting himself on the counter-top with his hands. “We have a block-lecture tomorrow that starts ass o'clock...” the younger one grumbled, fingers starting to peel the label off his bottle.

It would have been a lie to say he wasn’t disappointed, but he concentrated on the positive: Even though he had an early morning lecture, Stiles still had stopped by. 

“Did you fall into sugar or something?” Stiles suddenly asked, looking at his butt. Derek frowned and turned his head, patting down his jeans in an attempt to get off whatever might be stuck there. He stopped, however, when Stiles continued. “‘Cause that’s one sweet ass.” Cora snorted a laugh and humored Stiles by smacking Derek’s backside as she passed him. Pinching his nose, Derek wondered why again he thought Stiles was cute and not just plain annoying. But when he looked up again and saw Stiles satisfied grin, he couldn’t help but think the boy adorable. 

“Oh, by the way, here.” Derek reached over the sink and pulled a flyer from a small display with several postcards, leaflets and announcements, handing it to Stiles. “We’re having a big event here end of April. Live music and all.” Stiles inspected the flyer and pursed his lips, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he read the description on the backside. “Is-Is that you?”, he asked and held the flyer up, pointing at a small blurry picture of at the bottom right. 

Cora walked over and clapped Derek on the back. “Oh yes, that’s him all right! He’s been singing in a band all throughout college, but since graduation hardly performs. But! For our first year anniversary, we finally got him to agree on a small set again!” She grinned broadly and pinched her brother’s cheek. “Oh, we’ll have people fainting all over the place, I can already see it!” Derek’s face turned hot with embarrassment and he pushed Cora away with a scowl. “Stop it.” And turning back to Stiles he quickly added a mumbled “I’m really not that good.”

Maybe he shouldn’t have invited Stiles. After all, he was nervous enough to be on stage as it was even without Stiles watching him sing. And no matter what Cora or Laura said: While their band had been quite popular, it surely wasn’t because of him. Erica had been a killer drummer, and Boyd had written amazing songs. He had just tried his best to keep up with them, really. 

“I-I’ll definitely be there!” Stiles promised, amazement in his voice as he looked at Derek as if he saw a completely new person. “Man... the world sure is unfair. Hot, nice _and_ talented? Is there anything god hasn’t gifted you with?!” Derek pushed Stiles’ smiling face away with his flat hand, embarrassment written all over his face. “Shut up. But... it would be nice if you managed to stop by.”

* * *

“I seem to have lost my phone number. Can I have yours?” Derek just shook his head, an amused smile tugging on the corner of his lips. Stiles had just finished his fourth beer and was already pretty tipsy. And from the way Scott and Allison had slowed their pace on their drinks, Derek assumed his next beer would probably be his last before the group would leave. “Another drink, I assume?” Derek asked instead of rewarding Stiles’ cheesy pick-up line with a direct reaction. Stiles threw himself on the counter-top and let out an exaggerated sigh. “Unfortunately no. We’re about to head home...”, he mumbled twisting his head slightly where it rested on his arms to look up at Derek through his long lashes.

The bartender looked down at Stiles’ whiskey-brown eyes and busied himself with casually clearing out the dishwasher before he could do something stupid, like reach out and stroke the soft-looking brown hair from the youngster’s face. He focused his eyes on the steaming glasses for a moment to collect himself before turning to Stiles again. “Then how come you’re back here at the bar?” he asked, an eyebrow raised. Stiles just let out a huff and rolled his eyes as if Derek’s question was the stupidest thing he ever heard. “To get your number. Duh” He threw up his hands and gave Derek a frustrated look. “Are you even listening to me? Do you hear me talk? Like... at all?”

Derek let out a little chuckle at Stiles’ adorable little outburst. “Oh trust me, I hear you talk. Like all the time.” He smirked at the boy in front of him who just gaped at him. “What?” he asked. “I’m a great listener.” Stiles barked out a laugh, and the sound made Derek’s heart swell. “A great listener - Okay, maybe. But I didn’t know you were a talker as well. I think you never said that many words to me in a row!” Stiles face was bright and amused, his eyes lit up with happiness and it took everything in Derek to not just grab the boy by his collar and pull him close. So he put away the remaining glasses instead to give himself something else to concentrate on than how the corner of Stiles’ eyes crinkled when he laughed.

“So?” Derek turned around at the question and gave Stiles a quizzical look. “Your number. Can... Can I have it?” Derek knew Stiles well enough by now to tell that the cocky smile on his lips was just false bravado. His fingers were rapidly tapping away on the counter-top, giving away his nervousness, and his eyes searched Derek’s for any sign of rejection. And Derek knew he was being mean, but he simply couldn’t help but tease the boy. So instead of giving a straight answer, he settled on “I’ll think about it.”

Stiles’s mouth fell open, and he gaped at Derek for a moment before he let out a disgruntled huff. Pushing himself off the bar, he pointed a finger at Derek and with a “You better think fast!” he made his way back to the booth in which his friends were already waiting for him. Derek watched Stiles throw himself into his seat and mumble something to which Scott replied with a comforting smile and a pat on his shoulder. Allison turned her head and met Derek’s eyes an amused smile on her lips. Derek just shrugged his shoulders and busied himself with putting the now empty plastic tray back into the dishwasher, closing it before wiping down the wet counter.

When Stiles’ and his friends’ glasses were about to get emptied, Derek stepped out from behind the bar with a small tray in his hand and walked over to their booth. Scott frowned as he watched him approach and Allison excitedly hit him in the side with her elbow. Stiles, however, only noticed him when Derek set down a coaster and a small glass in front of him. “Our newest PA,” he explained when Stiles looked at him in surprise. “We haven’t decided on a name yet.”

“Stiles is not much of an ale-drinker” Scott scoffed and Derek didn’t know why the guy was so wary of him. He always looked at him like he wanted to tear out his throat even though Derek hardly even had spoken a word to him. “I know. But this is no regular PA.” he grunted and put down another small glass in front of Scott, maybe a little harder than necessary. After he also had served Allison a taster, he returned his attention to Stiles who was biting down on his lower lip as he happily eyed the glass in front of him. “Seriously” Derek nodded towards the little glass. “Try it. I think you’ll like it.”

And with this he returned to the bar where he pretended to sort the bottles while keeping his eyes on the booth to the left where Allison had already emptied her little glass, gushing over how light and fruity the PA was. Scott sipped on his glass with a conflicted expression - he probably liked the beer but didn’t want to admit it. Stiles was still running his long fingers over the rim of the glass in front of him and Derek craned his neck to get a better look when the boy finally lifted his glass and took a sip. Stiles swirled the liquid in his mouth for a moment before swallowing and smacking his lips in delight. “This really tastes amazing” he moaned loud enough to be heard from even behind the bar and Derek hid his satisfied smile behind the taps.

“Stiles!” he suddenly heard Allison squeal excitedly and watched as she repeatedly hit Stiles on the shoulder who just stared at her quizzically before looking down to where the girl was pointing. Derek couldn’t see it, but he knew that Stiles finally had noticed the number scribbled on the coaster below his glass. He had made sure to place the little glass directly on top of his handwriting when he had served the group, hoping to get exactly the reaction he got now:

Stiles held up the coaster like it was the holy grail, a huge grin on his face. He held up his hand that Allison immediately high-fived and even Scott gave his buddy a high-five albeit while rolling his eyes. “Derek!” Stiles called over to the bar, waving the small coaster in the air. “I knew you’d come around!” Derek just huffed out a laugh and threw his towel over his shoulder. Laura and Cora surely would make fun of him if they found out he actually gave Stiles his number, but the look of pure happiness on Stiles’ face right now was absolutely worth it.

A few seconds later Derek’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out to a new text from an unknown number. He smiled when he opened it and it immediately buzzed again. _I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU GAVE ME YOUR NUMBER!!!!!_ 😮😄 the first text read followed by a completely unnecessary _Oh, it’s Stiles by the way_ 😛 Suppressing a grin, he quickly typed out a reply: _**I can’t believe it either**_. A second later Stiles let out an undignified squawk and his fingers started to fly over his phone. And sure enough Derek’s phone buzzed again: _Your phone can consider itself lucky to have a master converser like me._ 😉 

Derek looked up to find Stiles look at him expectantly and he just shook his head again, amusement crinkling the edge of his eyes. _**I hope you don’t betray my trust**_. he shot back and barked out a laugh when he saw the immediately reply of _Don’t worry. I know: With great power comes great responsibility_. 

After Stiles had left the bar with his friends, waving and screaming “Bye Derek!” from the top of his lungs, only two more patrons were still sitting in the bar, nursing their beers. Cora was loading the dishwasher and Derek took stock of the fridge, noting down what he should bring up from the cellar. “Soooo...” Cora dragged out the word. “You really gave Stiles your number, huh?”

Derek sighed and poked his head into the fridge in a poor attempt to escape the conversation. Cora was relentless, however. “I knew you liked him.”, she teased, voice a sign-song. “You want to text him, don’t you? Text him hard and good.” Derek threw the door shut and gave her a flat look. “Can you stop this?” he growled but his annoyance only made her cackle. “Oh, I’m so right, aren’t I? But I can’t blame you: He sure is a cutie.”

And of course it was then that Derek’s phone buzzed again on the counter-top, making Cora’s eyes light up in glee. “That’s him, isn’t it?” She squealed and reached for the phone, causing Derek to launch forward snatching the little device before his sister got her hands on it. “Privacy, Cora! We talked about that.” he grunted as he held the phone as far away from Cora as possible. He knew his sister well enough to know she would snatch it from his hand otherwise. “So your conversations with Stiles are of the private kind, I see” Cora teased him again and Derek gave his sister a shove. “Just... go wipe down the tables or something.” 

Luckily, Cora for once did what she was asked to do and grabbed a cloth and the table cleaner. Derek took the opportunity to lean against the counter and open his phone. _If you were a fruit, you’d be a FINEapple_. it read and Derek felt his lips curl up in a smile. **_So you‘ll taunt me with your pick-up lines even when you’re not around?_** He scrolled through the short history of their conversation and shook his head in amusement. He really got himself into something, didn’t he? His phone buzzed in his hand again and Derek scrolled to the bottom of the chat to read the incoming message. _Will do so until you finally succumb to my charms._

“Aaw, now isn’t that just sweet?” Cora cooed from where she had pushed herself onto the countertop and glanced over his shoulder onto his phone screen. Derek grunted in annoyance, placing a hand over her face, showing her away. Pushing his phone into his back pocket, Derek picked up his list and stomped towards the door leading to the back. “Hey, don’t run away now!” Cora shouted, but he just flipped her off. He had more than enough teasing ahead of him, so no reason to expose himself to more ridicule now.

After they had finally closed down the bar and he had bid Cora goodnight, he made his way to his apartment upstairs. It was already past 1AM, but when he pulled the phone from his pocket and saw Stiles’ text still sitting there, he decided to reply to him, anyway. He considered several answers, but finally settling on a simple (albeit a bit mean) _**Good luck with that**_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so after finding only little time over the holidays to write due to family get-togethers, then my laptop refusing to reboot for several days and today my writing program shutting down suddenly deleting hours of work I finally managed to finish this story. Later than expected, but still.
> 
> I hope you like it!!! And if you do, you know... Comments & Kudos make me happy as a clam ;)

During the next two days, Stiles and Derek wrote each other texts. A lot of texts. And each time he reached for his phone, Laura and Cora were throwing mocking comments his way. But looking at the flood of texts from the cute brunette, he decided he could deal with their teasing. The thing was: Stiles was not just incredibly adorable and dorky but also proved to be funny and intelligent. Next to an array of bad pick-up lines (Derek’s favorite so far: “Are you related to Yoda ? ‘Cause YODALICIOUS 😄”) he also bombarded Derek with ridiculous random facts.

 _Did you know that in Switzerland it is illegal to just own one guinea pig?_ he had written Derek out of the blue the day before. _**That sounds like a weird law?**_ he had typed out in between cutting fruits for the night. _Guinea pigs are social animals, so it would be cruel to keep them alone_. the reply had read. _Isn’t that ridiculous? I mean... they think it is_ _abuse_ _to keep them alone, but have no problem performing tests on them..._

Their conversation had drifted off to Stiles’ studies then - he was a criminal major - and his plans for the upcoming summer vacation - not much besides an overseas trip to his friend’s wedding - before they somehow ended up talking about how George W. Bush once had been a cheerleader. Derek had given short updates about what happened at the bar - they had their first brawl in the bar and a girl almost choked on a peanut - and how the preparations for the anniversary event came along - he had had his first rehearsal with Boyd and fixed some songs for the set list already.

Stiles’ texts tended to be wordy and full of smileys and Derek could just picture the boy’s animated face when typing out his parts of their conversation. Derek on the other hand was just as curt in his texts as he was in real life. He just found it difficult to express himself properly and had been told several times in the past that what he said made little sense, so at some point he just had given up on even trying. Most people found that irritating, some even called him arrogant. But Stiles somehow didn’t seem to mind.

  
  


Stiles: _Did you know that Queen Elizabeth visited the set of Game of Thrones but actually couldn’t sit on the iron throne because law forbids her?_

Derek sat at the kitchen table, eating his cereal and smiled down at his phone.

_**How’s that?**_

Stiles: _Ruling monarchs can’t sit on a foreign throne_.

Derek snorted. Only Stiles could dig up a weird fact like that.

_**Well... sucks to be the Queen, I guess**_

Stiles: 😄😄 _So true._

_But hey, she has the Queen’s Guard._

_I guess I’d give up the iron throne for those_

_**What’s so special about them?**_

Stiles: _Do you even need to ask?_

_They’re like these tall stoic Adonises in uniform_

_and like super dedicated to their duty_

_**You’re not**_ _**seriously gushing over the Queen’s Guard, are you?**_

Stiles: _Dude now that I think about it you’d make an amazing guard_

_what with your stoic face and all_

Derek couldn’t help but laugh.

_**I guess you caught me.**_

_**I’m training in secret.**_

Stiles: _Does that mean you also pee yourself during your shift?_

Derek frowned and went over the text again, unsure if he might have misread something. But no. Stiles really had just asked him that.

_**What?**_

Stiles: _Well, you know_

_the Queen’s Guard_ _isn’t allowed_ _to go pee during their shift_

_so they just pee into their trousers 😮_

_**That’s just gross**_

Stiles: _Is that why you always wear black? 😉_

Derek basically could see Stiles in front of him, a mischievous smirk on his face as he winked at him. Fondly he rolled his eyes at his phone and typed out his reply.

_**I’m not peeing my pants, Stiles**_

Stiles: _Well, you surely haven’t seen_ _Pon. That movie scared the shit out of me 😐😮_

Derek’s phone suddenly rang and for a moment Derek’s heart skipped a beat, thinking it might be Stiles, but then he recognized Laura’s name on the screen. Picking up his phone, he ran his index finger over the screen and answered the call. “What’s up, Laur” he greeted, idly running his spoon through the milk in his bowl. “Did you remember to order a new keg of Howler? Cora said she tapped the last one yesterday” Laura asked, muffled voices in the background. “Don’t we still have one downstairs?” Derek returned around a mouthful of cereal. He could have sworn there still had been a Howler next to their house stock the other day. “Derek, I’m not stupid. I checked.” Cora’s annoyed voice came through the speaker. “I even wrote it on the shopping list yesterday.”

“You out shopping together?” he asked and held out his phone as if looking at the caller ID could give him an answer. “No, Der, we’re not shopping. We’re having breakfast. Now don’t avoid the question: Did you or did you not order another keg for tonight?” Derek put down his spoon and got up, putting his bowl in the sink. “No, Cora, I did not. Because it wasn’t on the list.” he growled and before Cora could start cursing at him, Laura took over the phone again. “Then I’ll stop by the store later and see if they have kegs as well. If not, we’ll just grab a few packs of bottles instead.”

“Good. Thanks.” he mumbled and was just about to ask if that was all they wanted when his phone buzzed again with a new text. He itched to check it immediately but held back. “Are we done then?” he asked curtly just as another text buzzed in. “Aw, Derek” Laura’s teasing voice came through the speaker. “Is that Stiles texting you?” His annoyed call for her to shut up, however, only encouraged further teasing. “Oh it is, isn’t it?” Laura chirped, followed by some shuffling before Cora’s voice came loudly through the speaker again. “Are you sexting him yet? Oh god. You’re sexting him, aren’t you?” “I bet you ten bucks they’re gonna hook up in the back office the next time Stiles comes to the bar!” Laura cackled and Cora bet twenty that it wouldn’t happen before the anniversary (Even if Stiles seemed like someone to put out even before the first date - her words not his.) 

Derek cut off the call with an annoyed huff and took a deep breath. He loved his sisters, he really did. But sometimes he just wanted to strangle them. Finding his calm again, he opened his messages again and found a link to a trailer on YouTube with the caption of _that girl is_ _fricking_ _scary,_ _I tell ya_ and an offer to watch it together some day as Stiles owned the DVD. He raised an eyebrow as he watched the trailer - and, heck, it really did look scary - and typed out a reply.

_**That is one scary ass Asian kid.**_

Stiles: _Right?????_

_Gave me nightmares the first time I watched it_

_I think I’ll never be able to go to_ _Korea_

_I’ll flinch every time I cross some random girl... 😮😮😮_

Derek laughed as he read the messages and threw himself on his couch where he continued to text Stiles until his eyes caught the time and he noticed that they had texted for over 2 hours.

_**Sorry,**_ _**gotta**_ _**get ready. Rehearsal again today.**_

Stiles: _Oh_ _man._

_Wish I could get a sneak peek already._

_Can’t wait to find out what your singing voice sounds like._

_**If you’re a good boy, I might send you a recording.**_

Derek didn’t know what had gotten into him to type that, but the jumbled mess of letters and emojis and the huge amount of exclamation marks he received in reply kept him from regretting his actions.

  
  


  
  


When he came home after rehearsal, Derek opened himself a Howler and put his feet up on the couch. Scanning through his folder of lyrics, he went through the parts of ‘Cloudy sky’ that he had messed up during rehearsal today. Remembering his earlier conversation with Stiles, he fished out his phone and opened his list of recordings. Boyd had given him a quizzical look when he had put his phone on the table, recording app open, but being the amazing friend he was he hadn’t pressured Derek for an explanation. He probably didn’t need to, though, given that Cora and Erica were texting non-stop and Boyd probably had heard everything about him and Stiles already.

Scrolling through the data of the past two hours, Derek tried to find a recording that sounded good enough to actually impress Stiles. Some of his best parts were during ‘You’re the Exception’, but Derek had mixed up the lyrics a few times and in the second recording Boyd had messed up the chords during the first verse a few times.

In the end, Stiles texted him before he could make a proper decision.

Stiles: _How was rehearsal?_

_**Alright.**_

_**Still lots to do though.**_

Stiles: _Aw, I’m sure you were the bomb_ 🙂 

_Any chances I get the promised sneak peek?_

Derek smiled and took another sip of his beer.

_**Not sure what you’re talking about....**_

Stiles: 😮 _Don’t play hard to get! You promised!_

_**Did I? Can’t recall**_

His phone buzzed and a screenshot of their earlier conversation, then again with a picture of Stiles pulling an adorable pouting face that made Derek laugh.

Stiles: _I’ve been a good boy. Give me my reward._ 😄 

_**Okay, okay.**_

Returning to his recordings, Derek decided to send only the first few seconds of their first recording of ‘You’re the exception’, just a bit of guitar and him humming. He knew it would make Stiles laugh and go adorably mad. It was perfect. And just as he had expected, a few seconds after the file had been marked as read, Stiles typed out an array of the most funny insults Derek had ever heard.

* * *

On Friday night, Stiles stepped through the door into the bar again, followed by his friends. Derek didn’t know why the sight of him made him so nervous. They hadn’t seen each other in a few days, but had exchanged texts for hours on end every day. Even during work he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off his phone most of the time, earning him a ton of comments from his sisters and Isaac, the new help they had hired. 

“I assume this is the infamous Stiles, then?” Isaac asked innocently from where he stood behind the counter, polishing the wine glasses. Cora leaned in and whispered something in his ear, making the blonde laugh and Derek glare. He was just about to scold them as Stiles walked up to the bar, unnaturally shy. It seemed like he, too, was unsure how to approach Derek now that they had gotten to know each other a lot more intimate than their regular bartender - patron relationship.

“Hey, Derek.” he greeted nervously, running his fingers over the wooden counter. “Hey.” Derek answered just as shyly and Cora snorted as she watched their stilted interaction. Before she could make any dumb remarks, however, he shooed her off to go fill up the fridge. Isaac observed the situation curiously, but was wise enough to not say anything. 

“What can I get you?” Derek asked as normally as he could and Stiles scanned the menu boards in the back, trying to figure out what he felt like today. When his eyes caught on the newly added PA on the list of house beers, he barked out a laugh. A humorous glint in his eyes, he turned to Derek. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked, voice shaking with a suppressed laugh. Derek looked over his head and felt a grin pull on his lips. Training his face back to normal, he turned around to Stiles and shrugged. “Yep.” Stiles threw his head back in glee, and it was exactly what Derek had hoped for when he had named their latest creation.

“All right. Then I’ll have a pint of FINEapple, please!” Stiles mused and just like that their interaction was back to normal.

  
  


“There must be something wrong with my eyes, I can’t take them off you.” Stiles announced as he stepped up to the bar to get their last round of the night. Derek rolled his eyes and got the drinks ready. “You know what?” Stiles asked and Derek turned his head to look at him when a flash suddenly blinded him. “What the hell was that?” he protested, blinking away the stars in his vision as he pushed the last beer of their order towards Stiles.

Stiles glanced up at him through his lashes, cheeks slightly blushed, as he held up his phone to show Derek the picture he had taken of him. The flash had made his skin lighter, a bright contrast against the black T-shirt with the bar’s logo and the blurred background. His face was just turning towards the camera, eyebrows raised in question and lips parted in a half-smile. He looked ridiculous, Derek thought, but Stiles insisted the photo was great. “I’ll make this your contact photo” he announced, and Derek gave him a flat look. “No, you’re not.” Stiles opened his mouth in fake shock, clutching his chest. “How dare you tell me what or what not to do!”

Derek huffed out a laugh and stole the phone from Stiles’ hands. With a quick motion he unlocked the camera and when Stiles reached for the phone, he quickly snapped a photo of the two of them. A laugh escaped him when he saw the resulting image pop up on the screen: Stiles was leaning over the counter, one arm stretched out towards the camera. His surprised face was slightly turned to Derek, who was grinning straight at the camera, eyes bright with mischief. 

“Now, don’t tell me that this isn’t much better than the other one!” he snorted and held the phone up to Stiles for inspection. The boy’s eyes widened and a grin spread on his face. “Oh man, this is gold!” he cackled, happily taking the phone from Derek’s fingers. “You’re right, this is definitely winning.” Derek contently crossed his arms in front of his chest and watched as Stiles saved the photo as Derek’s ID.

Their little party of two was disturbed when Scott called Stiles from where he sat next to Allison in their booth, demanding he bring the beers before they go flat. Stiles sighed but rewarded Derek with another happy smile and a “Thanks again.” before he pocketed his phone and picked up all three beers at once, tongue sticking out between his lips in concentration.

* * *

Derek was just handing a young blonde her change when his phone buzzed. He knew it was Stiles who probably was bored at his father’s birthday dinner. And sure enough, the text he received from Stiles number read _Roses are red, my face is too, that only happens when I’m around you_ with a blushing smiley and a small monkey covering his eyes next to it. He shook his head in silent laughter and typed out a reply. _**Oh, we’re getting poetic now?**_ As soon as his text was sent, Stiles sent three smileys laughing tears followed by _Oh,_ _I’ll be so poetic your heads gonna spin!_

_**Well, bring it on.**_

Stiles: _Roses are red violets are blue, I didn’t know perfect until I met u_

_**You’re really into roses and violets, aren’t you?**_

Stiles: _You bet! 😄😄_

_Here’s one more_

_Roses are red, I have a crush, whenever I’m around you, all I do is blush_

_**Nothing without flowers?**_

Stiles: _Sorry, all non-flowery poetry_ _is sold_ _out_ 😞

_**You disappoint me...**_

Stiles: _Well, we can’t have that, now can we?_

_So here we go_

_Me without you is like a nerd without braces, a shoe without laces, a sentence without spaces. 😛_

Derek barked out a laugh loud enough it startled a group of college girls waiting for Cora to finish their drinks. Hiding his grin behind a cough, Derek turned around.

_**Okay, I have to admit**_

_**That was beautiful**_

_**so poetic it made me swoon**_

Stiles: _You know what’s beautiful?_

_Read the first word._

Before he could reply, his phone was pulled from his hands and, turning around to find out who dared to steal his phone from him, he saw Laura sprinting to the other end of the bar. “Oh my gosh! Derek is flirting! _Flirting_!” she cackled and when Derek tackled her she fell against the fridge with a gleeful shriek, tossing the phone to Cora who caught it easily and took off around the counter. “Give me back my phone!” Derek roared, his cheeks hot with embarrassment. “That’s not funny!”

“Oh, oh yes it is!” Cora wheezed as she duck behind a perplexed young man holding up his beer in order to not accidentally drop it. “ _That was beautiful_ “ she read, her voice a ridiculous deep pitch. Derek finally caught her and ripped his phone from her hands. “That’s not even how I sound.” he mumbled and body-checked her as he passed. Steadying herself on the counter-top, Cora looked after him as she wiped tears from her still grinning face. “Oh, come on, Der-bear. We’re just happy for you!”

Derek pushed his way past a group of girls who giggled at him and flipped his sister off. He considered hiding out in the back for a moment but felt that would just make him lose face even more. So he grumpily pushed his phone in his back pocket, squared his shoulders and glared at the next customer who just looked at him with wide eyes as he stammered out his order.

* * *

“You know, there’s really only one thing I want to change about you” Stiles grinned as he leaned against the bar, eyes trained on Derek who drew two ales for a girl tapping her fingers on the counter-top next to Stiles. “Oh, really?” Derek asked without averting his eyes from the foam building up on top of the glass. “And what would that be?” He handed the two beers to the girl and rang her up. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Stiles’ grin turn wider, “Your last name.” the boy finally delivered his punchline and the girl next to him rolled her eyes so hard Derek feared they might never return to their original position. “You can’t be serious...” she muttered and shook her head in what was clearly second hand embarrassment.

Derek just gave Stiles an amused smile and handed the girl her change. Instead of just taking her drinks and leave, however, the girl reached over the counter and squeezed Derek’s forearm. “I’m sorry. It must be annoying to have random people hit on you like that.” Derek frowned and stared at where the girl's hand was still lingering on his arm. When he looked up again he saw Stiles glare at the girl, a muscle in his jaw ticking angrily, and the fury in the boy’s eyes made a warmth spread in his chest. He pulled the girl's hand from his arm and placed it roughly back on the counter-top. “Thanks god he’s not random people then.” he commented brusquely and watched as the girl let out an outraged huff, grabbed her beers and disappeared to the back of the bar.

A smug smile spread on Stiles’ face and he leaned further over the counter as necessary to hand Derek his money. “Was that just you defending my honor?” the boy asked teasingly, and Derek threw a slice of lemon at him which Stiles caught with his mouth. (Because of course it was only times like these that the boy wasn’t a mess of flailing limbs.) “And now you’re even providing for me? You’re such an alpha male...” he fake-swooned as he clutched his hand dramatically against his chest. Derek snorted a laugh and shoved a Goose Island towards the boy. “Just shut up and go back to your booth.”

  
  


For a Thursday night, the bar was surprisingly full and Derek didn’t much of Stiles over the next 2 hours besides the two times Stiles stopped at the bar for new drinks and short rounds of friendly banter. His phone, however, buzzed a few times with questions about whether Derek could mix certain drinks - some of them Derek had to google to see if it really were lewd names for actual drinks or just Stiles being Stiles. And no, there actually is no such thing as a ‘Rosy Sphincter’, thanks god. ( _But there_ _totally should be!_ Stiles insisted, followed by a vast amount of emoji Derek hardly could make sense of.)

When the crowds finally thinned, Isaac busied himself with inventory in the back and Laura took out the trash while Derek started to clean the tables and fill the dish washer. He stopped by Stiles’ booth announcing last call for the night. “I think I’ll take a Coke” Allison smiled and held up her empty bottle for emphasis. Scott just pointed to his almost empty pint as a form of ordering another Howler and Stiles leaned back in his seat, grinning. “I think I’ll take something tall and dark with a great body.”

Scott face-palmed in second hand embarrassment while Allison toppled over giggling and Derek thought he heard her wheeze an “He said it! He actually said it”. Derek, by now more than familiar with Stiles’ shenanigans, just shrugged and picked up their empty glasses. “Coke, Howler and a stout coming right up.” He had to bite down a grin when he saw the disappointment on Stiles’ face. “Oh, come on! Don’t leave me hanging, Derek!” he heard the boy call after him as he walked back over to the bar. “I deserve better than this!”

Derek ignored the muttered “That’s what I keep telling you” from Scott (What the hell was his problem?!) and instead started preparing their drinks. After having taken them over to the group of youngsters, Derek had returned to his spot behind the counter, starting to clean and count out their tips of the day. When Isaac came back from the cellar with two crates of beers to restock the fridges, Derek looked at the clock and, given the late time already, sent the helper home with some left over sandwiches and his share of the tips. Isaac gratefully took the money and pulled on his jacket, saying his goodbyes to Stiles and his friends before hurrying to catch the last train. 

  
  


“So... next week is the big event, huh?” Stiles asked as he put down their empty glasses on the counter. Derek looked up from where he just rang them up. “You know you don’t have to help clean up” he said, but Stiles just shrugged his shoulders. “That’s the least I can do for all those drinks we got on the house until now.” “You mean ‘all the free drinks you got on the house’” Allison teased as she pulled on her leather jacket. Scott handed her her purse and lurked in the background, obviously trying to speed Stiles up in his goodbyes. 

“When exactly will you be on?” Stiles returned to the topic and Derek shouldered his towel. He went over the schedule in his head, scratching his chin in thought. “I think around eleven? But it all depends. We have another singer songwriter up first and she is amazing, so I definitely recommend coming earlier.” Stiles and Allison looked at each other in excitement and even Scott seemed thrilled. “That sounds amazing!” Allison proclaimed and Stiles gave her two thumbs up. “Even better: Happy Hour for house beer!” He did that stupid happy-dance where he pointed in the air and just wiggled his ass that made him look ridiculous (and Derek want to kiss him) and then focused his attention back on the bartender.

“Keep me updated if I should bring any fan merch. You know: Derek banners, Derek hats, Derek penlights...? Maybe one of those glittery paper fans with your face on it?” The bartender just shook his head and waved his hands in the younger one’s direction. “Just go home already. And please - don’t bring anything next week. I swear, if I see anything even remotely _fangirly_ on you I’ll put you on house beer ban for the night!” Stiles gasped, clutching at his chest with both hands. “You wouldn’t!” Derek just gave him a flat look and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Try me and see what happens.”

Allison laughed as she pulled Stiles towards the entrance. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he behaves”, she promised but as the door already fell shut Derek could hear Stiles scream “No one can stop me!” from the top of his lungs.

* * *

When the day of the anniversary event finally rolled around, Derek was nervous. Immensely nervous. He actually contemplated for a while to just fake sickness to not have to be there. Why had he let Laura and Cora talk him into this?! 

“Don’t be such a chicken!” Erica clapped him so hard on the back he almost fell over. “Tonight will be a blast!” Boyd nodded in silent agreement while heaving an amp past them to the back of the bar where Laura and Cora had made room for a make-shift live space. Derek sighed and started assembling the mic-stands, chest light with nervousness and excitement. “People will love it!” Cora promised and leaned over the counter. She had just refilled the fridge, making sure there were enough bottles to build a whole fort. “And even if you fuck up, people probably are too distracted by your handsomeness to even notice.” She ducked to the side to avoid the little cardboard box Derek threw at her, sticking out her tongue. 

Erica grinned broadly, white teeth flashing between bright red lips. “Well, she might not be so far off, ya know?” she teased. “You look edible today. What’s the occasion?” Derek blushed, feeling put on the spot. So okay, he might have spent longer to get dressed earlier, maybe even tried on four different pants until deciding on the tight black Levi’s that emphasized his butt. And was he wearing his favorite color-block T-shirt, the one that not only was soft as hell but also hugged his waist perfectly and made his biceps look amazing? Yes, so sue him. He wanted to look good tonight. For the event. For the anniversary. That was all.

“He even accessorized, ya know” Laura grabbed his arm, showing Erica the leather bracelets and the ring he put on next to his regular watch. Both girls cackled when he ripped his arm from his sister’s grasp, self-consciously turning the ring around his finger. “Leave him be.” Boyd finally came to his rescue, pushing Erica to the side so he could carry through two chairs. “He’s nervous enough as it is.” And he was right: He had gone through the lyrics the whole morning but still felt like his mind would just blank as soon as he stepped on the stage tonight. He really wondered how Erica could stay so cool. She would be on before them, singing some songs from her newest album. 

Derek really envied her self-esteem. She had been pretty shy and inconspicuous at the time she had joint their band back in high school. But her drumming immediately convinced Boyd and him she would be the perfect addition. And as they slowly found their sound and increased their fan base, playing at basically every school festival and even once at the Beacon Hill’s summer festival, Erica had found her self-esteem. She had finally asked Boyd out, and it didn’t take more than one official date for them to go steady. And over time she was a completely different person: Instead of blue jeans and a variation of grey T-shirts and baggy sweaters she had changed to wearing black dresses, miniskirts and high-heels. And when Boyd’s sister had introduced her to a natural hair care brand from somewhere in Spain, her unruly, brittle hair had turned into a long wavy blonde mane. 

And as their band had split up after graduation, Erica had started to sing herself. At first as chill way to spend time with Boyd who was a god on any instrument with strings, but then as she had her first few gigs in small bars around town, she decided to skip one of her part-time jobs to record her first self-produced album. And she seemed to be the only one surprised about it being a hit, the first press selling out within just two gigs. (Derek alone had two copies, one for home and one for the bar, both signed and dedicated.) 

“Don’t worry too much, Derek” Erica bumped shoulders with him. “I’ll warm them up so you have easy play. And hey, you got the best most handsome guitarist on your side!” She walked over to Boyd, slinging her arms around his waist and giving him a loud smooch on the cheek. “So in case you fuck up - which you absolutely won’t - you guys can just rip off your shirt and no one will remember.” Derek rolled his eyes fondly and set up the rest of the equipment.

  
  


Stiles and his friends came in at shortly before eight and made their way through the already crowded bar. “Happy anniversary!” Stiles greeted happily from behind an enormous bottle of champagne that he carried with both arms. Laura held her hands up in excited disbelief, and Derek just buried his face in his hand for a moment laughing. “Oh my god! Did you buy this as an anniversary gift?” Erica squealed from behind him and rushed around the bar counter to help Stiles push the monstrosity onto the countertop. “You bet your sweet ass I did!” Stiles proclaimed proudly, patting the green glass bottle proudly, which made Laura and Erica laugh even louder. Cora stood a few meters away from them, taking photos of them on her cell phone. 

“Happy anniversary!” Allison greeted from the back, followed by similar congratulation from the rest of the group. But Derek responded only absentmindedly, too focused on how fantastic Stiles looked today: He wore black jeans so tight it made Derek’s mouth go dry and a bright red hoodie with an over-sized zipper in the front that brought out his eyes. Derek swallowed as Stiles pulled off the grey beanie to reveal his ridiculously messy hair. It looked so soft and inviting, Derek had to restrain from reaching out and just run his fingers through it. (God damn, he wanted to run his fingers through it!)

“I think you dropped something, bro...” Laura murmured, pulling Derek out of his daze. Throwing a quick smile at Stiles, he turned down to check what Laura might have spotted, but couldn’t see anything. He looked up at his sisters to find her grin from ear to ear and felt the heat creep into his face. Of course he would be stupid enough to fall for it. Erica cackled, obviously having caught what Laura played on and just patted his shoulder as she walked over to where Isaac battled with serving the people lining up. 

Returning his attention to Stiles and his friends, he tried to calm his beating heart and nodded towards their regular booth. “I kept your spot open. Thanks for coming today.” He felt awkward and nervous and it must have shown as Laura rolled her eyes dramatically and then clapped everyone on the back. “Well, with that overwhelming welcome speech feel free to take your seats. I assume you start with a round of beer? Scott, Howler? Everyone else a Wet Dream? Awesome.”

And with this she disappeared behind the counter and started drawing beers while Scott, Allison, Lydia and the guy Derek couldn’t stand, Jackson, made their way through the crowd. Stiles, however, stayed behind, pushing his hands in his pockets as he watched Derek timidly. “You...” he started, clearing his throat. “You look awesome today.” “You, too.” Derek answered, wincing at his awkward response. “And thanks for this!” he quickly added, pointing to the huge bottle still sitting on the counter. “It really wasn’t necessary, though. Those things cost a fortune. Trust me, I know.”

“Just accept it and be happy.” Derek was about to disagree when Stiles interrupted him again. “And if you feel guilty for me spending all that money, then you can just make up for it. Let’s say... by taking me out on a date?” The boy grinned cheekily, but Derek could tell the words weren’t said as lightly as they sounded. He regarded the boy in front of him for a few moments before he finally nodded. “I guess that could ease my conscience.” he replied with a smile and had to hold back a laugh when he saw Stiles’ eyes grow almost comically wide. “For real?!” he asked, lips curled up in a blinding smile. “No, Stiles, I’m just joking.” Derek rolled his eyes, but couldn’t contain a laugh when he saw Stiles doing his ridiculous happy-dance again, spilling some of his beer in the process.

Scott called Stiles over to their table, causing the boy to stop in his motions and shaking off the beer dripping from his hand. Grinning, he turned to Derek gratefully taking the offered towel to wipe his hands clean. “Uh-uh, Derek. No backsies! I’ll send you my schedule!” He turned around and made his way back over to his friends, maneuvering his way around two girls and a guy in a leather jacket. Derek shook his head in amusement and grabbed some of the dirty glasses lining up on the bar counter, trying to not let the happiness show too much on his face. 

“Oh, and Derek!” Stiles shouted, causing Derek to look up again at where Stiles was already halfway hidden by the crowd. “Was your dad a baker?” He grinned from ear to ear and Derek could feel his own lips curl up in response. “Because you sure got a nice set of buns!” And with that Stiles disappeared behind two tall guys leaving Derek to look after him fondly. “Aw. He’s a keeper!” Erica leaned in next to him, bright red lips spread in a huge grin. “Certainly has my approval. So go get him tiger!” Derek pushed her in fun and handed her two bottles of brass that she forwarded to a guy in a green T-shirt, holding up a twenty-dollar bill.

  
  


Throughout the next hours the bar got packed: All booths were taken as were the standing tables they had added close to the entrance; Standing space was packed enough that people had to duck around people to get from A to B and even the sidewalk up front was full of people smoking and sipping their beers.

Laura mentioned several times how amazing it was that they not only made it through their first year but also had gained a bunch of loyal customers happy to celebrate with them. And it was true: Stiles and his friends were not the only regulars that had come in today, also not the only ones bringing presents. Derek was moved by all the flowers, bottles and CDs their best customers had presented them with. And next to all of them, they also had tons of new patrons today. Word of mouth surely was powerful. (And Cora’s event on their Facebook page might have had something to do with the immense crowd, too.)

But even though Derek was happy that their business was flourishing so much, he would have lied if he said he wasn’t a bit disappointed about how little time it left him to actually chat with Stiles. Whenever he tried to make his way over to their booth he was stopped by customers congratulating him and, being the owner, he found himself indulged in small talk until one of his sisters called him back to the bar for one reason or the other. So all he could do was watch the boy from afar and enjoy the few times he came over to order new rounds. Luckily, everyone on the staff knew better than to serve Stiles themselves, leaving that honor solely to him. Otherwise, he might have hardly exchanged any words with the brunette at all.

  
  


When eleven rolled around, Erica had just finished her set, and Laura had commemorated it by throwing a round of shots for everyone. 

“Oh wow. Erica was amazing!” Stiles announced as he pushed his empty pint glass over the counter. “She said you guys sell her CD tonight?” Derek nodded and pointed towards a small table next to the door leading to the toilets that held two small stacks of CDs and a cash box. “She’ll be happy to sign it, too, once she packed up.”

Stiles buzzed with excitement, bouncing on his feet as he waited for Derek to finish drawing his beer, the fourth one of the night. “You’re up next, right? Man, I can’t wait to finally hear you sing!” Derek handed him his beer and sighed. “Don’t remind me.... I’m getting nausea just thinking about it.” he admitted, letting his eyes wander over the crowd that had assembled in the back, Erica in their midst happily chatting and shaking hands. Stiles followed his gaze and leaned back against the counter, arms propped up on the counter. “People will be just as amazed by your performance, I’m sure. You sure enough have one dedicated fan already.” Stiles looked at him with a wink and took a sip of his beer.

Derek smiled, Stiles’ words settling some of his nerves. “You haven’t even heard me sing yet.” Derek commented, and Stiles laughed. “Oh, and whose fault is that, hm? I sure enough have begged and pleaded. I tried everything, but a certain someone wouldn’t budge.” Derek leaned over the counter, propping his head on his hands as he flashed a predatory grin at Stiles. “Well, I can think of quite a few things you haven’t tried to convince me.” he said and Stiles’ jaw dropped, a beautiful blush coloring his cheeks. “Wh-What-? Who? Who are you and what have you done to Derek?” Derek barked out a laugh at Stiles’ surprised splutter, head light from the booze and the nervousness of his upcoming performance.

“Aaaaw, you two are too cute!” Erica cooed as she stepped up next to Stiles and reached out to pinch both of their cheeks with her perfectly manicured fingers. Derek slapped her hand away but couldn’t bring himself to form a proper glare. Stiles on the other hand was beaming up at her in excitement. “You were amazing! I especially loved the second song. And damn ‘Walls’? ... absolute tearjerker, I tell you. And I’m not easily moved! ... Okay, I actually cry a lot during movies, musicals and... but that’s not important. What I want to say is that you really, really were amazing!” Stiles stopped his ramble with an embarrassed laugh and Erica’s eyes got all warm and mushy as they always got whenever she found a new pup she decided to adopt. 

Before Stiles knew what happened to him, Erica had pulled him into a tight hug. “That’s so sweet! I love it when people seriously enjoy my music.” Derek pulled on her arm, allowing Stiles to free himself from the iron-clad hold she had on him. “He’s interested in a CD. So how about you express your gratefulness in writing instead of suffocating poor innocent people with your boobs.” Erica threw her head back in laughter and hit him in the shoulder. “Alright. I’ll keep my hands off your precious little sweetheart here...” Now _that_ did make Derek glare at her, but Erica just shrugged it off. 

She slung an arm around Stiles’ shoulder and pulled him off towards the table with the CDs. Stiles glanced at Derek with an uncertain smile on his lips but let himself be dragged along nonetheless.

  
  


“It’s time” Boyd pointed at his watch and Derek took a deep breath. He had tried to drown his nervousness in two beers and a shot during the 40 minutes since Erica finished her set, but now the tight feeling in his chest was back. He shook out his arms, grabbed the bottle of Howler still sitting on the counter and downed it in one go. “Okay. Give me five minutes and I’ll be right out.” Boyd gave him a thumbs up and turned around to look for Laura, who was designated MC for the evening, while Derek excused himself to the bathroom.

After having taken a leak and washed his hand, Derek stood in front of the bathroom mirror and slapped his cheeks. Closing his eyes, he went through their set-list again and hummed the beginning of their first song. “Okay, I can do this.” he reassured himself, though it did nothing to calm his heart rate. One more round of shaking out his limbs and a quick check in the mirror had Derek nod to himself before making his way out and through the crowd to the small stage.

“And finally, the moment a lot of us have waited for” Laura announced, her voice loud and hoarse from too much alcohol and talking. “Our very own Derek will finally grace us with his wonderful voice again!” The crowd cheered and Derek gave an awkward wave as he sat down on the chair in the middle of the space, picking up his guitar. Boyd had already taken the place next to him and silently went through the first chords. “A lot of you might not know this, but Derek, Erica and Boyd here had been quite famous as ‘3 Howls to midnight’ until three years ago.” A few customers in the crowd howled and Erica laughed gleefully at their fan’s signature cheer. 

“Good to see we have some long-time fans in the crowd” Laura laughed and waved to some people in the bar's front to come closer to the stage. “For everyone else: Prepare to fall in love! Derek and Boyd, everybody! Make some noise!” She handed Derek the microphone, and he pushed it into the stand, clearing his throat before he started to talk. “Thanks Laura for the introduction.” His heart beat pulsed in his ears as his eyes searched the crowd, finally landing on Stiles who had pushed his way through to first row. His eyes were bright as he looked at Derek, giving him an encouraging smile and a thumbs up. 

Derek returned the smile, took a deep breath, and continued his welcome. “As you know I’m normally the guy behind the bar and together with my little sister Cora the mind behind some of our house beer...” The crowd cheered again, some holding up their pints in a general toast. “...but tonight my sisters have coaxed me into singing for you all. So.... enjoy.”

He nodded to Boyd who returned the gesture before tapping the rhythm on his guitar. As soon as they started playing their guitars, the crowd clapped and Derek couldn’t help but seek out Stiles in the crowd. The boy held his beer to his chest, eyes fixated on Derek and lips slightly parted. Derek’s chest warmed at the sight and he looked down at where his fingers tugged the strings, hiding a smile. When he looked up again and started to sing, Stiles’ face softened in awe and for some reason it made all of Derek’s nervousness disappear.

  
  


“This will be the last song for tonight.” Derek announced, and the crowd groaned in disagreement. Derek felt light from all the positive energy in the room, a content smile on his lips. “You’re the exception - Enjoy.” 

When the first chords rang through the air, he saw Stiles’ face light up in recognition. “I never thought I’d see the light again / Drowned in a world bitter-grey” Derek started to sing, voice a low, melancholic rasp. “I’d sworn to myself that I was content / Promised I wouldn’t complain / I’ve always kept my distance, never let one in / But then there was you and somehow I knew / You’re the exception” As he started into the chorus, people started pulling out their phones and lighters and Cora enhanced the atmosphere by further dimming down the light. It was an amazing feeling, and Derek couldn’t help but smile at the crowd as he continued singing.

As he got to the second chorus, Derek couldn’t help but lock eyes with Stiles again. “Feel my heart beating / You are the reason / I’m hopeless when I’m around you” He saw Stiles eyes glistening in the dark of the room, his beautiful lips part in a small, private smile as he stared back at Derek. “My hands they are shaking / And you are the reason / Don’t wanna hold back anymore” People were singing along by now, but Derek hardly noticed them, hardly noticed anyone really. For him, the only important person in the room was Stiles. And so he sang out all the emotions he had accumulated over the past few months, with one recipient in mind. “Cause you’re the exception / The only exception / The only exception for me”

When the last chords faded out, the crowd erupted in loud cheers and applause. Boyd bumped his shoulder, mouthing “nailed it” and Laura made her way through the crowd to pull him up and into a tight hug. “That was amazing, Der” she sighed into his ear, voice thick with drunken emotion. Relishing in the moment, he wrapped both his hands around his sister’s waist, careful not to hit her with his guitar, and gave her a tight squeeze. “Thanks for forcing me to do this. It was fun.” he admitted to her silently before releasing her.

Laura looked at him proudly and then turned around to address the crowd again. “Now, have I promised too much? Give it up once more for Derek and Boyd!” Both Boyd and Derek put down their guitars and stood up to take small bows, thanking the crowd again for their positive reception. Laura gave the two of them a peck on the cheek and then screamed “And now: Let’s get fucking wasted!!” The crowd erupted in cheers and laughter and some patrons already made their way back to the bar to get refills. A flock of people remained in front of the stage though, waiting for a chance to talk to Derek and Boyd.

“That.... that was just amazing.” Stiles gushed as Derek stepped out from behind the mic stand. “Not that I expected you to be anything but great after everything I’ve heard, but... man... I don’t even find words.” Derek felt his heart swell and had to hold back the urge to just step into the boy’s personal space and kiss him stupid. “Thanks. I’m glad you enjoyed it.” he said instead with a dazzling smile. The blush that tinted Stiles’ cheeks in reply made Derek just smile even more.

“Enjoyed it doesn’t even come close to it.” Stiles grinned, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he reached for the big zipper at the front of his hoodie. “Luckily I came prepared.” He pulled down the zipper and revealed a white snug-fitting T-shirt underneath that read _Derek’s #1 Fan_ in big block letters and underneath in a smaller italic font _Everyone else can suck it_. Derek barked out a laugh and ran a hand through his hair as he re-read the T-shirt. “You are crazy, you know that?” he chuckled and reached for Stiles’ hoodie, pulling it to the side to have a better look. Stiles bit on his lip and eyed Derek happily. 

When Derek looked up, he found Stiles’ pupils blown and just as Derek was about to pull the boy in and finally kiss him, a blonde girl stepped up to him. “That was amazing. You are so talented!” she beamed at him and Derek took an unconscious step back, releasing Stiles’ hoodie. “T-Thanks.” he replied and stiltedly took the hand the girl extended expectantly. “Can... can I maybe take a photo with you?” she asked shyly and Derek for a moment looked at Stiles, lost at what to do. Stiles just let out a small huff and rolled his eyes. “I’ll go fetch another beer. You look after your other fans.” Derek wanted to object, but Stiles already had turned around and made his way towards the bar while more girls started to crowd him.

  
  


By the time he finally had finished taking photos with random girls and exchanging pleasantries, almost an hour had passed. The crowd in the bar had visibly thinned and Erica and Boyd already said their goodbyes. Derek’s eyes scanned the room for a certain red hoodie, frowning when he couldn’t spot Stiles. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out his phone to check if Stiles had sent him any message, but the last text he had received was from before he had gone on stage.

Stiles wouldn’t just leave without saying goodbye, Derek was sure, so he weaved his way through the remaining people loitering in the free space towards the booth Stiles and his friends had occupied. But the only thing he saw was Stiles’ hoodie, crumpled on the seat, and a bunch of empty pint and shot glasses. “Hey Cora” Derek stopped his sister who just passed with a full try of empty glasses. “Have you seen Stiles?”

Cora shrugged and craned her neck, looking around the room as if to check if she could spot the boy somewhere. “Not sure about Stiles, but I think I saw Scott and the others leave earlier...” Derek frowned. Had Stiles really left? Had he said something to upset him? He replayed their prior interaction in his mind, but couldn’t come up with anything that would have caused Stiles to be mad. Sure, he had seemed a bit down when those girls had crowded him in, but that surely wouldn’t cause him to just up and leave, right?

He pulled out his phone and typed out a message as he walked back to the bar counter, but stopped in his tracks as he noticed a familiar brown mop of hair. “Stiles!” he called out and jogged over to where the boy was slouching on a bar stool. Stiles almost fell off the stool when he turned to face Derek but luckily was stopped by Derek’s arm steadying him. “Dereeek!” he laughed and patted the older one’s cheek. “There you are! I’ve b’n wait’n for you!” Derek tried to pull him upright, but Stiles toppled over, his butt slipping off the stool, body crashing into Derek’s who slung a strong arm around his waist.

“Stiles, you’re drunk” Derek sighed and ran a hand through Stiles’ hair, pushing his head back so he looked at him. Stiles let out a gurgling laugh, eyes unsteady as he grinned up at him. “I’m n’t drunk, just intoxicated - by you.” he giggled and Derek was relieved to find him at least conscious enough to spout one of his stupid pick-up lines. “Okay, let’s go with that I guess...” Derek muttered, his fingers absentmindedly rubbing circles into the boy’s hairline. 

“Where are Scott and the others?” The confused look on the younger one’s face would have been endearing if it hadn’t been proof of just how wasted Stiles really was. “Stiles! _Stiles_!” Derek repeated and snapped his fingers in front of the boy’s face. “Where did Scott go?”

Stiles hiccuped and leaned further into Derek’s space. “Scott went home” he mumbled, a happy sigh leaving him as he tipped over far enough his face rested on Derek’s shoulder, nose squished to the side and mouth slightly parted. “Okay... So Scott is home.” Derek repeated in thought before shaking Stiles shoulders again. “Where are your other friends? Hm? Allison? Or that other one... What’s her name... Lydia?” Stiles let out a small sigh and turned his head so he could look up at Derek, going slightly googly eyed. “All gone. Gone gone gone.” 

Now that wasn’t good. How could they possibly leave Stiles behind? Derek felt fury settle in his guts. Leaving a friend as drunk as this was not just irresponsible but dangerous! Sure, it was their regular bar and everyone on the staff knew them, but who knew? Someone could have taken advantage of a half unconscious Stiles while Derek and the others were busy serving patrons. “I’m gonna punch Scott the next time I see him” Derek growled angrily which, for some reason, sent Stiles into a giggling fit.

“What?” Derek barked and Stiles patted his shoulder in what probably was intended to be a soothing manner. “Scott had been saying the same about you” he laughed, head lolling to the side crushing hard against Derek’s chin, but while Derek hissed in pain, Stiles hardly even seemed to noticed. “He thinks you’re a stuck up prick that plays with my heart.” he continued as if nothing happened. His long fingers curling around Derek’s stubbled chin, Stiles pulled Derek’s face close. “Are you playing with my heart, Derek?”

“Oh man, that’s a major hangover in the making if I ever saw one…” Laura commented from where she wiped down one of the tables. “You need a hand?”

Derek disentangled himself from Stiles’ hands and slung a strong arm around his waist, keeping him upright. “We’re fine.” he ensured his sister and heaved Stiles back onto one of the bar stools. “Derek. Don’t play with my heart, yeah?” Stiles mumbled, hands already busying themselves again, this time with Derek’s T-shirt. As Derek assured the boy that no one was playing with anyone’s heart, he reached over the bar to grab an ice cube, holding it up in front of the boy’s face. “Suck this for now.” he commanded. “It might help you sober up.”

To Derek’s horror (and Laura’s amusement) instead of taking the ice cube with his hands from Derek like any normal human would, Stiles just leaned forward and sucked the little cube into his mouth, alongside Derek’s fingers. The bartender let out a strangled breath as he felt Stiles lips close around his fingers, the warm tongue running a slow circle around them a stark contrast to the cold ice on his fingertips. The way Stiles’ eyes fluttered closed only to immediately open again to gaze at Derek with blown pupils sent heat straight to his loins. Images of Stiles sucking something different in his mouth, lips stretched around loud moans, flooded his brain and his heart started beating so loudly he didn’t even notice Laura and some other customers giggling as they passed.

“Get a room” Isaac murmured behind the bar, causing Derek’s senses to suddenly rush back to him and he pulled his fingers from Stiles warm mouth as if burned, face bright red with embarrassment. “Just don’t fall over, I’ll be back in a second” he instructed Stiles, voice high and slightly strangled, and quickly made his way around the bar counter to fetch a glass of water that he then pressed into Stiles hand.

“Here you go, drink that.” Stiles looked up at him with a dopey smile but followed Derek’s order, taking a few sips of water. “You should get some sleep... Can you get home somehow, Stiles?” Derek looked at the boy with concern as the boy swayed on his stool, giving Derek a heart attack each time the motion almost made him slip off and fall. “You shouldn’t have drank so much...” Derek sighed and glared up at Isaac who was loading the dishwasher behind the counter. “Who gave him so much to drink?” he barked angrily, trying to find a scapegoat to direct his frustration at and the blonde boy being the closest target. Isaac held his hands up in defense. “Don’t look at me! Laura was the one to throw one round of shots after the other!” 

Whipping his head around, Derek glared at his sister, but Laura just shrugged. “It’s a party, Der, people get drunk.” Huffing in frustration Derek focused back on Stiles who had finished half of his glass of water and clanked his teeth on the rim, eyes unfocused as he squinted into the glass.

“Stiles?” Derek tried, but the boy seemed too spaced out to notice. “ _Stiles_!” he repeated and carefully slapped the boy’s cheek. Finally looking up at him again, Stiles’ lips curled up in a smile. “Dereeek! You w’r s’ good. Like an angel. You sing like a sexy, sexy Angel.” He uncoordinately patted Derek’s cheek and the older one couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips at that. “Thanks, I guess. But, we need to figure out how to get you home.”

Stiles just looked at him, confusion written all over his face. (it was endearing) “But... Yu’r here. And and Lydia said tigers go get it. ‘N... ‘n you sang.” Derek frowned, not sure he could follow Stiles logic, but asking probably wouldn’t help much in the boy’s current condition, so he just put stabilizing hands on Stiles shoulders again, leaning down to catch Stiles wandering eyes. “How do you get home, Stiles?” He tried again, but Stiles just stared at him, eyes wide and mouth open in almost comical amazement, as if he just saw God himself.

“Yer eyes are so pr’tty, like kaleidoscopsh” Stiles whispered serenely before suddenly leaning over and throwing up all over Derek’s front.

Eyes wide in shock, all Derek could do was hold Stiles up by his shoulders as the puke soaked into his T-shirt and jeans. “m so sorry” Stiles mumbled in between heaves, still perched over, head hanging between his shoulders. Derek took a deep breath before letting out a sigh. “It’s fine, Stiles. Shit happens...” He rubbed a soothing circle over Stiles’ back while the younger one just sat there, trying to catch his breath.

Laura, the bitch, just laughed and made photos with her cell phone while Isaac at least had the decency to hand him a towel to wipe off the worst of the mess. “I think he is in no condition to take a train or taxi...” Isaac observed and Derek had to agree. If they sat him in a taxi, he’d probably just throw up in it, if the driver even accepted a customer that drunk (not that he knew Stiles’ address anyway). So Derek asked Isaac for some paper towels and then bent down to carefully wipe Stiles’ mouth. And while it should have been gross and nasty, Derek couldn’t help but find Stiles kind of adorable as he leaned into Derek’s hand and so readily let the other take care of him.

“Better?” he asked in a low voice and Stiles nodded, reaching for the remaining paper towels in Derek’s hand. “‘m really so sorry...” he winced, eyes drawing together and nose crunching as the boy tried to hold back tears of embarrassment. “Ssh... it’s nothing. Really. It’ll wash off in no time.” Derek tried to calm him down, but Stiles just buried his face in the paper towels he held in both hands.

Laura walked up to them with a mop and affectionately ruffled Stiles hair, careful enough as to not cause the boy more nausea. “I think it would be best if you just take him upstairs, Der.” she assessed and Derek hated to admit it, but she was right. And what was the worst was that, actually, throughout the night he had hoped that maybe he really would be able take Stiles home tonight - but under circumstances that were more fun. But even if the circumstances differed, any additional time spent with Stiles was more than welcome. Looking at the boy in front of him, he let out a small huff of sympathy and threw the dirty towels into the garbage bag Isaac held open for him. He then proceeded to peel Stiles’ hands from his face and looked at him again. “Let’s go. Can you walk?”

Stiles nodded and slid off the stool, held up carefully by Derek’s hands. The bartender looked at Isaac and Laura, checking if they would be fine closing up without him and when Isaac nodded and Laura just laughed, telling him to take care of his damsel in distress, he slung an arm around Stiles’ waist and guided the boy out through the backdoor. Getting Stiles up the stairs to his apartment was quite a challenge, but with a lot of encouragement, promises of a warm bed and a maximum of muscle use, Derek finally heaved Stiles through his apartment door and guided him to sit on the couch.

While Stiles sank into the cushions, Derek quickly stepped into the bathroom taking off his soiled clothes. After he put on simple grey sweatpants, he continued to the kitchen where he fetched a glass of water that he placed on the table in front of Stiles. “You should have more water.” The boy didn’t look up at him, instead stared at his shoes, face soft with drunkenness and sadness. “This is n’t how I pict’rd it...” Derek heard Stiles mumble and he sat down on the empty spot next to him, bumping his shoulder. “Don’t worry too much. Really... Happens to the best of us.” 

After Derek nudged him two more times with the glass of water in his hand, Stiles finally gave in and took it, placing it to his lips to take careful sips. Watching Stiles drink made something in his chest settle. It might not have been how he had imagined the first time he had Stiles over at his place, but seeing him there, in his living room, on his couch, it just... felt right. Without further reflection, he reached out a hand and ran his fingers through Stiles’ hair, the strands soft between his fingers. 

Stiles let out a soft moan at the touch, eyes falling shut for a moment until the relaxation the contact had triggered in him almost made him drop his glass. Jerking, he tightened the grip on the glass again and sheepishly smiled up at Derek. His eyes trailed over Derek’s face, lingering on his lips for a moment before making their way down to his chest. Derek could tell the exact moment Stiles’ brain noticed that he was bare-chested and the look it caused on the younger one’s face made him chuckle. “Like what you see?” he asked when Stiles didn’t stop staring for almost a minute. 

Face turning red like a tomato, Stiles turned away and gulped down the rest of his water in one go. Derek laughed, body light and relaxed as the tension of the evening seeped out of his muscles. “So this is y’r place....” Stiles mumbled as he looked around the room (basically at anything but Derek’s bare chest). “‘s nice. ‘n convenient...” Derek shrugged. “Yeah, I got pretty lucky to find a place that had a decent enough space for the bar and a living space in one. It’s not the biggest place, but I feel at home.”

Stiles nodded as he listened to Derek speak, his body sinking deeper into the cushions again and slowly gravitating towards the older one. Derek could tell from the younger one’s look that he was contemplating on whether to ask or not, so he simply added “I don’t normally bring people up here, though.” Relief crossed Stiles’ face and he gave Derek a small smile, fingers drawing circles onto the leather of the couch.

Derek got up, refilled Stiles’ glass and got himself a beer from the fridge before sitting down again, close enough to Stiles that their shoulders were touching. As if drawn in by the heat, Stiles leaned in closer, his head dropping slightly onto the other one’s shoulders. And for a while they just sat there in silence, sipping on their drinks and listening to each other’s breaths and the muffled sounds from the street below. Normally Derek would have felt awkward with all the silence, but with Stiles next to him, a content smile on his lips, it didn’t feel weird at all.

“The world finally stopped spinning. I think I’m sobering up” Stiles finally broke the silence from where he leaned on Derek’s shoulder. The older one huffed out a laugh and put down his almost empty bottle of beer. “If that’s the case I’d propose we try to get some sleep, hm?” Stiles seemed to hesitate for a moment, visibly comfortable as they were, but nodded. When he pushed himself up, Stiles grimaced shortly at the headache building up and Derek surely didn’t want to trade places with him - the boy would probably have an awful morning.

“Follow me.” Taking Stiles’ hand in his, Derek made his way to the bathroom where he ushered the boy to sit on the edge of the bathtub. He quickly opened his cabinet and got out a bottle of painkillers he threw at the younger boy. “I think you should take two of these. Thank me later.” Stiles muttered something, obviously relieved, and quickly swallowed the pills with some water Derek handed him.

“I think the painkillers will do the trick...” Stiles commented when Derek continued to search the cabinets and when the older one finally pushed a tooth-brush into his hands, his eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You sure you don’t have people over regularly?” he questioned and Derek just laughed. “Not random ones, if that’s what you mean. I do, however, have an overbearing family that has no sense of privacy or common sense so they drop by unannounced more often than I’d like. So well... I like to be prepared to avoid unnecessary complaining.” Stiles chuckled. “Yeah, I can imagine Laura being a pain in the ass...”

Derek squirted some toothpaste onto the brush Stiles had unpacked before doing the same for himself and the two of them started brushing their teeth side by side. It was beautifully domestic and Derek felt his chest ache with how much he wanted this to be something regular. Seeing Stiles grin around a foamy mouth full of toothpaste, almost choking on the white liquid when he tried to speak; Toasting with glasses of water before simultaneously rinsing their mouths; Looking at each other through the mirror while showing off their clean teeth...

It felt so normal. And _right_. And like everything Derek wanted. 

So his body moved to lean over and kiss Stiles’ minty lips before his brain even caught up with what he was doing. When he pulled back, his heartbeat was rapid, blood pulsing loudly in his ears as he searched the younger’s face for a reaction. Had that been okay? Or had he read the signs wrong the whole time and overstepped? Sure, Stiles always threw those horrible pick-up lines at him, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. It could have just been some dare he had with his friends. A fun way to pass the time... Though the Stiles he had gotten to know wouldn’t do that. But then again, did he really know Stiles? And also Stiles was still drunk, so... Derek had pretty much taken advantage of the situation, hadn’t he? He shouldn’t have just kissed Stiles, but asked first... What if Stiles turned around and left not just his apartment, but his life altogether?

Derek’s thoughts went wild and panic started to settle cold in his guts, but before he could blurt out how sorry he was, Stiles lunged forward, slung his arms around his neck and kissed him. And just like that, all of Derek’s worry dissipated, leaving him warm and happy in Stiles’ embrace. He slung his arms around the younger one’s waist and pulled him flush against his chest, humming happily into the kiss when Stiles tongue started to shyly explore his mouth. 

Derek tilted his head slightly, allowing him better access and eagerly welcoming his tongue with his own. With each minute their kiss turned more frantic, tongues quickly grappling for dominance and bodies grinding against each other in an attempt to satisfy the heat coiling in their stomachs. 

“No witty words to that, huh?” Derek commented smugly as he pulled back and saw the blissed out expression on Stiles’ face, fingers absentmindedly played with the short hair at the back of the younger one’s neck. Stiles, out of breath and lips beautifully bruised, stilled for a moment, biting his lower lip in contemplation before the corners of his eyes crinkled in amusement.

“Your lips look lonely. Let me introduce them to mine” Stiles murmured and Derek laughed against his skin. Stiles wouldn’t be Stiles if he couldn’t come up with bad pick-up lines even in a situation like this. “You’re absolutely hopeless” he chuckled, turning his head slightly to nose along the younger one’s chin. “If that’s what gets you going” Stiles laughed as he slid his fingers through Derek’s thick hair, pulling his head back slightly with the movement. The way Stiles’ nails scraped over his skull made shivers run down his spine and Derek’s eyes fluttered shut for a moment. 

“You like that?” Stiles voice was hoarse as he watched the older man, his pupils blown just as much as Derek’s possibly were, and instead of answering Derek just launched at Stiles, picking him up with the movement. Stiles immediately slung his legs around Derek’s hips, hooking them behind his back for better support as the older one kissed him senseless all while trying to walk them over to the bed without bumping into too many things (only partially successful). 

Stiles landed on the mattress with an “Umpf!” and it took everything in Derek to not pounce him right there and then. Muscles wound tight with want, he looked at the boy in front of him. And Stiles looked delicious: His face was flushed and chest still heaving from their kiss, body loose and open. His hands had fallen over his head, one hand moving over the rustling sheets to run fingers through his tousled hair. His T-shirt had moved up just enough to display an inviting patch of skin that Derek couldn’t help but touch.

Stiles sighed under the contact and Derek knelt onto the bed, leaning down to kiss his already bruised lips, drinking up the sound like a thirsting man in a desert. He spread his fingers over the younger one’s warm abdomen, eliciting strangled moans from him as his hand traveled further until his thumb drew a careful line over Stiles’ collar bone. When Stiles’ back arched under the touch and his head fell back, granting Derek full access to his neck, the older one bent down and covered the trail of his fingers with feathery kisses. 

When Stiles pulled him off his neck by his hair, Derek retaliated by attacking his mouth again and letting his skilled fingers work their way to the younger one’s hardening nipples. “Derek-! Ng-!” Stiles moaned throatily and slung his legs around Derek’s hip, pulling him in, the friction of their erections making both of them roll their eyes in pleasure.

“Kiss me if I’m wrong, but I think you are kind of into me?” Stiles teased and Derek shook his head where it leaned against the brunette’s neck. He looked up at Stiles through his lashes and ground down against Stiles. “Not just kind of.” he smirked. 

Stiles eyes lit up in glee and he pulled the older one in for another heated kiss.

  
  


“Was that an earthquake or did you just rock my world?” Stiles huffed as he laid next to Derek on the floor next to his bed, both trying to catch their breaths. Derek chuckled, his body light and tingly from the afterglow of just having had the best sex of his life with what could be the man of his dreams. 

Both of them had been eager to explore each other’s body, hands running over every inch of skin they could find in an attempt to commit every mole, every muscle, every pore to memory. It had been heated and hectic, and taken them an embarrassing short time until their hips had stuttered, mind-blowing orgasm cutting their quest short. But Derek couldn’t help but feel anything but bliss when he looked over to where Stiles laid next to him. 

Their clothes were scattered around them, The blanket hang off the edge of the bed, one end tangled awkwardly around their ankles and when Stiles let out a protesting grunt when he tried to roll onto Derek and the fabric restrained his movement. Derek laughed and leaned over to press a kiss onto the younger one’s forehead before freeing his own feet from the rebellious piece of fabric and standing up. 

Reaching down, he pulled Stiles up and pulled him in for another kiss before giving him a teasing smack on the ass nodding his chin towards the clock on his night-stand. ”It’s late. We should clean up and get some sleep." he argued, and after pulling a displeased face, Stiles huffed and took the tissue-box Derek held out and started cleaning himself. 

Having disposed of the last soiled tissue, Derek climbed into his bed where Stiles already was snuggling into the pillows, gushing about how they were “the softest and most amazing thing in this world”. Derek lifted a challenging eyebrow and Stiles pulled him close. “Besides your lips of course” he grinned and Derek obligingly leaned forward to prove him right. When he pulled back, Derek grinned, mischief sparkling in his eyes. “You look cold. Want to use me as a blanket?” he asked.

Stiles couldn’t hold back the loud laugh that bubbled out of him and it was the best sound Derek had ever heard. He wished he could hear it more often. Preferably every day from now on. For the rest of his life.

* * *

Derek felt his phone buzz in his back pocket and fished it out with his free hand while putting down the coffee maker. His eyes immediately sought out Stiles as he read the name on the screen. Sitting on the couch, Stiles looked over to him, smirking cheekily when their eyes met. And sure enough, when Derek opened their chat, the latest text, dated just a minute ago, read _Hey handsome, wanna be my official boyfriend?_ _Yes=Smile._ _No=Back-flip._

A chuckle worked its way up his throat and Derek looked up to see Stiles waggle his eyebrows.

“You know I actually _could_ do a back-flip, right?” he teased as took the two mugs of coffee and walked over to the couch, but Stiles just shrugged, a happy smile on his lips. “You didn’t though.” Derek handed him the blue mug, his favorite one that Cora had gotten him for his 17th birthday, and sat down next to him.

And after having taken a sip from his own mug, he smiled. “You’re right. I didn’t.”

  
  


end.


End file.
